Why can no one spell anymore?

Question

Almost every question I open on here has some major spelling mistake. One girl spelt "know" knoE!

It drives me crazy!

I care because I believe if you are trying to communicate with someone it is only polite to do it in a way they can understand.

And it makes a person look so stupid when they can't spell properly. My old employer admitted he didn't consider badly spelt application forms for any job

I'm not American, and would be considered working class, but I did get a fantastic education.

And "spelt" is just fine where I live!

Answer 1

The reason most students do not understand grammar and spelling is that it is not taught properly at a young age. I am a high school junior, and I try very hard when I am writing to spell things correctly and to use proper grammar. I think I notice this more than some because I take two languages besides English. I use informal language only in instant messaging and occiasionally e-mails with friends. Most students no longer realize that in formal, written language, strict grammar rules do need to be followed most of the time because they aren't required to learn it.

I never formally learned the parts of speech until I began a foreign language. I was in the sixth grade when my class was taught comma use, and I was in my junior year of high school before I was taught proper semicolon use. The same teacher that taught me semicolon use was the first teacher to teach me that you are not supposed to use contractions in formal writing. I was in the eighth grade before I was even taught that numbers should be written out. Teachers are increasingly forced to teach to a standardized test, which means essential pieces are lost because they will not be asked for. There is a rather amusing list of twenty-two grammar rules in which every rule breaks what it says. Here is the address of the list: http://www.datatek.net/Humor/How%20to%20write%20good

Answer 2

Molly dear, I would normally have your back, but not on this one...Sorry.

This isn't a formal forum in the slightest...And as anal-retentive I am about my own personal spelling, and my dislike for chatspeak, it's not that big of a deal, m'dear.

But I do agree with needlepoint_lace, Steve P and chevalrose. Declining school standards, spellcheck, and texting are all contributors to our inability to spell properly.

However- Chancelikely- You're completely wrong on her nationality, and social class; I'm guessing you're a person of the very category you've described? And "spelt" is fine in her home dialect as is using "u's" in words like labor/labour and favor/favour.

Answer 3

Some people do these things on purpose, which I personally cannot figure out. I don't why, but I guess some people just put a lot less importance on spelling and grammar. Some people claim that they type the way they do because it takes less time (text shorthand versus proper typing). But I don't personally feel that being easily understood and proper is worth being sacrificed for time.

Answer 4

Spelling is arbitrary, it's a measure of how well you've internalized a random and bizarre set of rules and exceptions (or how anal retentive you are about spell-checking). And this is a casual question-and-answer forum, not a résumé. Do you speak the same way to your friends as your boss or your grandmother?

(Well, actually, you're probably pretty close to that. You are peeved about spelling, which means you're probably a middle to upper middle class white American, which means your dialect switching is limited.)

EDIT: Rats, 'spelt' should have been a tip-off for me.

Answer 5

Text messaging doesnt help. Everything is being shortened to words that look like they sound so they fit in the box. Kids use it everywhere, including school. I've heard of school papers where kids used 'u r' rather than you are. Its so annoying, I dont even want to read what people write when they type like that. I was hiring people and one girl wrote 'slang' in an e-mail and I just thought to myself: "Does she REALLY think thats going to get her hired!?". Ugh...

Answer 6

well my dear you aren't exactly an English major yourself... what kind of question is ' why can no one spell anymore?' lol... you can't talk about anyone!

I don't remember spelt either! and this stuff about applications... who on here is applying for a job?? do you not think that it could have been a typo?????

get a life!

Answer 7

Laziness.

Answer 8

Who knows!! A question for you though, is spelt really a word? I think it's surposed to be, one girl spelled "know" knoE.

Answer 9

that's a very good point. I have no clue. it's possible that they accidentally hit the "e" instead of the "w" because they're right next to each other, but it does annoy me too.

Answer 10

well I am sorry it drives you crazy But we are not here to be judged on our spelling it is not a spelling test.I am not the best speller so I use the spell check,Not everyone does that,But it is there right not to.